The Power of the Empowered Employee
I love interacting with companies that empower their employees.
An empowered employee: A person that has the power to make decisions without a boss or supervisor lurking over their shoulder. A person that can go off-script, bend the rules and do what they believe is the right thing to do for the customer without fear of losing their job.
You’ll know it when it happens.
The empowered employee creates an instant feeling of authentic service that creates greater customer loyalty and will keep you wanting to come back. By the way – you won’t find it on their resume. And it’s not covered in the pages of the orientation manual or during their first day of staff training. Empowered employees exist as a result of the way an organization is run. When a company sets out a clear set of values and beliefs and hire people who are good “fits,” then they are more likely to trust people to do the right thing.
And empowered employees do the right thing.
I buy coffee every morning at the same place. For 125 consecutive visits I remembered to bring $1.63 for a large coffee. On the 126th visit, I forgot. No money. The empowered employee winked and passed me my large coffee to save me the embarrassment from the 6 people waiting behind me.
They will make it back ten-fold.
I love going to this quaint restaurant once a week for breakfast. Six months ago they took the steel-cut oatmeal off the menu because apparently no one but me ordered it. The empowered employee ignored the menu and made sure there was steel-cut oatmeal available when I came in.
They will make it back ten-fold.
An employer can allow and encourage this kind of behaviour, or they can discourage and punish it, not empower their employees, and save the $1.63 or $5 box of oatmeal.
What kind of employees do you want protecting your brand?
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Good article. I actually just watched a video on youtube about how autonomy is more important than financial rewards for motivating employees.
Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
T
Kevin,
your email line said that your employees are your BRAND.
Yet the last line of your blog reads What kind of employees do you want protecting your BRAND. Subtle difference in words but a huge difference nonetheless – I like how you originally say it.
gordon
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Sean Cadigan and The Idea Factory, The Idea Factory. The Idea Factory said: The Power of the Empowered Employee – Read more: http://bit.ly/cg8l9o [...]
Kevin,me old trout.
I live by this message. That’s why the magazine is successful. It’s the team that keeps us #1. That being said I’m waiting for you to recomend ABM to some of your clients. Now. Don’t have me to send Luigi down to Duckworth St.
Your Friend in Crime
Totally agree!
Great post kevin
Kevin you are right in the way you think on employees and they do make the difference. To many times I see one employee go out of his or her way to make feel like this is a great spot to spend your money and then it only takes one bad one to ruin it and the bad one is always remembered.
Hey Gang – thanks for the chatter – nice to see the banter…here is a rapid fire reply:
Hey Tim – just checked out that link – thanks for passing it along. Very cool.
Gordon – you are right – if you brand isn’t seamlessly aligned ‘inside’ the outside world will not matter – the brand is born from the inside out.
Hubert – #1 magazine man – yes I love my Sports Illustrated – when did you make this acquistion? (kidding – abmonline.ca “home of the great ad experiment!
Sulley – the smartest Cab Driver in the province with a keen marketing eye – if anyone has seen real life examples you have – thanks for the “jiffy” comment.
KC
KC
@ Dave Andrews…
do you “totally agree” with Hubert or I – couldn’t tell – this could be a first for Hubert if it applies to him – so be gentle.
KC
Employee empowerment is powerful – takes a powerful (and humble, and understanding, and motivating, and the list goes on) person to pull it off.
I find the hardest thing to do as a leader is to admit you are only a leader if people look to you as a leader – not because of your title, but because you are effective in your job and you make them effective in theirs. Sounds simple, but it is an art that I wish was as easy to perfect as it sounds!